Month: June 2015

Over 14,000 people in California prisons, and 80,000 in the United States, are kept alone in steel and concrete cells the size of a parking space.

Over 14,000 people in California prisons, and 80,000 in the United States on any given day, are kept alone in steel and concrete cells the size of a parking space, with no fresh air or sunlight, for years and decades, some over 40 years. Many more are in solitary confinement in jails, juvenile facilities, and detention centers. Activists gathered on June 23 outside the Santa Cruz Post Office to expose and end the torture of solitary confinement in all lock-ups, in Santa Cruz County, statewide, nationwide, and worldwide.

On the 23rd of each month, since March 23, 2015, Statewide Coordinated Actions To End Solitary Confinement (SCATESC) are held in cities throughout California. The demonstrations were launched by the Prisoner Hunger Strike Solidarity Coalition, a network of grassroots organizations, family members, formerly incarcerated people, lawyers, and individuals who are “amplifying the voices of those in California’s solitary confinement in their call for an end to torture.”

This interview by Matthew Swinnerton of Event Santa Cruz was originally published on June 22 at eventsantacruz.com.

So Bradley, what inspired you to make a company selling gourmet marmalade & jams?

My inspirations to start a company making jam from local organic fruits come from a range of people, organizations, ideals, events, and job experiences. On a trip to France in 1998, I remember breakfast always included fresh butter croissants accompanied with delicious strawberry jam.

I’m passionate about our environment and food, including sustainable agriculture, which I studied at UC Santa Cruz. Food preservation allows people to utilize more fruit from a tree. For example, a single plum tree typically provides more fresh plums than a family would be able to consume. By making plum jam, the incredible taste of locally grown plums can be enjoyed all year round. Environmentally, this seems to be a better decision than importing plums grown in another country when they are out of season locally.